From 1980 to 1983, Billy released what might be called three "concept" albums. Glass Houses was a rock album with touches of new wave, The Nylon Curtain was his "serious" album that was inspired by The Beatles, and An Innocent Man was an homage to the pop songs of the 50s and 60s. He then released Greatest Hits I and II in 1984, got married to Christie Brinkley, and had a child, Alexa. Fans were eagerly awaiting his next album, wondering what direction Billy would turn to, or whether he would return to his singer-songwriter days. The Bridge was released in 1986 and marked a new stage in Billy's career and development. He was now an established international superstar, with nothing to prove. ​

The album was structurally similar to his earlier "singer-songwriter" albums, and featured some guest artists such as Ray Charles and Cyndi Lauper. Still, the material on The Bridge was not as consistently strong, or popular, as his prior work. The biggest hit off the album was "A Matter of Trust," a rock ballad about trust in relationships (and a good companion piece to "Honesty"). And the album certainly had its share of melodic tunes such as "This Is The Time" and the duet with Ray Charles "Baby Grand." Billy even swings on "Big Man on Mulberry Street," while "Getting Closer" is a solid soulful rocker about Billy's life and travails in the music industry, featuring a rocking organ solo by Steve Winwood.

While The Bridge was another solid album, it lacked the edginess of Billy's most recent works, or the cohesiveness of his earlier stuff. There is less of the angst, urgency, or heartbreak that inspired Billy's earlier work. Instead the songs on The Bridge are either about contentment ("This Is The Time" and "Baby Grand") or mild dissatisfaction ("Running On Ice" "Modern Woman" "Code of Silence" or "Temptation"). After all, at this time in 1986-1987 Billy was at the pinnacle of his career with a new daughter, a hugely successful Greatest Hits album, a well-received acting (voice) performance in Disney's Oliver & Company, and his upcoming historic tour in Russia and release of the live album of that tour, Kohueptin 1987. While rumblings within the band over money and other issues were beginning to surface, at least in his personal life with Christie Brinkley and daughter Alexa it was a time he would probably look back on as "the time to remember/ 'Cause it will not last forever/ These are the days to hold on to/ 'Cause it won't although we'll want to." While there is nothing wrong with contentment, intense dissatisfaction and desire have often been an artist's greatest ally and inspiration.

Rolling Stone critic Anthony DeCurtis, however, warned against construing The Bridge as an autobiographical work. "It's tempting to read the new-found comfort Joel displays on The Bridge in personal terms — this is, after all, his first album since his marriage to Christie Brinkley and the birth of their child. His defensive cockiness has softened into a much more appealing confidence, and he's abandoned the ambitious concepts he's relied on to unify past LPs.

"The danger of a biographical reading of The Bridge, however, is that Joel has historically been the least self-revealing of songwriters — a fact that's caused him no end of problems with critics. Whereas most literate rock & roll trades on the romantic illusion of an artist sharing his deepest inner feelings with an audience of sympathetic souls, Joel has always defiantly — and sometimes arrogantly — kept his distance. His theatrical flair, fondness for classic song structure and penchant for styling his vocals to suit the characters he sings about all have roots in a tradition that stretches beyond rock & roll to the formal artifice of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway. Where the masks leave off and the man begins is probably no easier for Joel himself to determine than it is for his listeners.

​ "As he did on his 1977 LP The Stranger, Joel makes this dramatic tension part of The Bridge. . . . "

And if I don't have this all worked out Still I'm getting closer, getting closer I still have far to go no doubt But I'm still getting closer, getting closer﻿

– From "Getting Closer"

On the 30th anniversary of The Bridge's release, Jeff Giles of Ultimate Classic Rockwrote an in-depth article about the album. He wrote:

​"Personally and professionally, Joel understood he was undergoing a metamorphosis. “I knew that this album was going to be a transitional album,” he observed. “That’s the purpose it served. It bridged that gap.”

"The end result of all this conflict — which Joel, naturally, titled The Bridge — arrived in stores on July 29, 1986, and although in some respects it retained the form and function of a classic Billy Joel record, it wasn’t hard to hear the strain behind the scenes. For the first time in awhile, Joel sounded like he was reaching, and not always in a good way. Joel records like Turnstiles and The Strangerwere willfully eclectic, but they sounded like the work of a guy whose restlessness pushed him to explore; in contrast, The Bridge sounded like a bit of a hodgepodge. ​. . .

"Although it didn’t come close to replicating An Innocent Man‘s impact, it still broke the Top 10 and went double platinum, sending a string of singles into heavy rotation. And as much as its title reflected Joel’s season of change, it also pointed to the number of musical connections he made during its recording — he cut a duet with his idol Ray Charles (“Baby Grand”), luredSteve Winwood in for some studio jamming and a cameo (“Getting Closer”), and even got a last-minute songwriting and vocal assist from Cyndi Lauper (“Code of Silence”)."​

As Billy said, The Bridge was a transitional album marking the end of Billy's "pop star" period and signaling his new marriage, fatherhood, and his upcoming entrance into middle age. Of course, over the next few years after The Bridge was released, storm clouds would appear in Billy's life that would bring about turmoil and troubles such as the lawsuits with his former manager and attorney and a falling out with some of his longtime band members. But at the time in 1986, Billy had paid his dues and earned the privilege of taking stock of his life and career, and could authentically say that he was "getting closer" to figuring it all out.

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Promotional photo (1986).

Ray Charles and Billy recording "Baby Grand" (still from the music video).

Interviews & Features - The Bridge​

Various Interviews. This playlist feature videos and audios of Billy discussing The Bridge, as well as clips of his historic concerts in Russia in 1987 which concluded The Bridge tour. It also includes a 1988 interview in Japan.

Click on icon in upper left of video for playlist.

Building The Bridge (1986). "Building the Bridge" is a documentary on the development of Billy's ninth studio album The Bridge from 1986.

Live Performances - The Bridge​

Live in Philadelphia (1986) This is a professional shot video of a concert in Philadelphia on The Bridge tour. The video is somewhat grainy, but audio is okay.

Click on icon in upper left of video for playlist.

Live in Russia (1987). This is a YouTube play list consisting of audio clips and videos of the songs on the albums Kohuept and A Matter of Trust from Billy's concerts in Russia in 1987, at the end of The Bridge tour.

Click on icon in upper left of video for playlist.

Live Misc. Appearances (1985-1986). This YouTube playlist contains videos from 1985 to 1986 of Billy performing. The first two videos are from his appearance at Farm Aid in 1985.

Click on icon in upper left of video for playlist.

Live Misc. Appearances (1987-1989) This playlist consist of videos from various live and television appearances by Billy from 1986 after The Bridge was released, to 1989 just before Storm Front album was released.

"It's appropriate that Joel has chosen to call this album The Bridge — a title that evokes both the emotional ties the LP stresses and the term for the musical passages that give songs their shape. The album's formal simplicity allows its meanings to emerge in a natural, unpretentious way. The result is a smart, sophisticated collection of songs that seemingly brings us closer to Billy Joel than we've ever been before — and leaves us with a pleasant sense of expectation about the bridges we'll be crossing with him in the future."

Covers for "Running On Ice," "Big Man on Mulberry Street," "Code of Silence" and "Getting Closer" are fictional.

Comments

All music and lyrics by Billy Joel, except as noted. This is an unofficial fan site providing information and commentary on Billy Joel's music. It is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Billy Joel, Sony Music, Columbia Records, Maritime Music, or any Billy Joel organization. Billy Joel's official site is at BillyJoel.com.